Several students have come forward and said Jacob Reuben, an ASUA presidential candidate, has violated multiple rules, but the election commissioner said the accusations are unmerited.
Adam Falck, Associated Students of the University of Arizona elections commissioner, said each complaint is fully looked into, and the only legitimate violations have been "petty poster" violations for different candidates.
Falck said complaints are taken seriously, but so far, statements against Reuben have been speculation, and no witnesses have agreed to give a testimony.
Tyler Carrell, Cade Bersen's campaign manager, filed several complaints against Reuben, saying he violated clearly stated election code bylaws.
Carrell, a pre-business sophomore, said the election commission has not done anything about the complaints, even though he has submitted pictures and offered to have witnesses testify.
According to the election code, "Campaigning at any University of Arizona sporting event is not permitted."
However, Brian Bloodworth, a pre-business sophomore, said he saw a man in a suit passing out campaign flyers outside of McKale Center after the Feb. 20 basketball game.
Reuben acknowledged that he did pass out flyers, but said past candidates passed out flyers outside of McKale and it did not violate any rules.
Falck said candidates are allowed to campaign before or after a game, as long as it is not during the sporting event. Falck said the campaign rules are clearly stated, but he cannot predict every possible violation scenario.
"I don't think there is any ambiguity in the code," Falck said. "It is clear what candidates can and cannot do."
Pictures on Reuben's www.Thefacebook.com group show him with UA basketball players, which Carrel said is inside McKale Center and "clearly right after the game."
"(They are) blatantly, almost mockingly, violations, which is not all right," Carrel said.
Reuben would not comment on where the picture was taken but said a basketball player is just "a person who goes to school who wants to support a candidate."
Reuben said regardless of where it was taken, the basketball players in the picture supported him beforehand and he was in no way campaigning at the game.
Each presidential candidate is only permitted to spend $370 on their campaign, but many candidates say it appears Reuben is spending more.
Carrel said Reuben has passed out candy and carnations, an expense other candidates probably could not afford, questioning if Reuben was honest with expense reports.
"I feel there are inconsistencies with what they are reporting and what they are spending," Carrel said.
Reuben said many of the companies he went through would offer the same discounts to the other candidates and bought many items in bulk. He said he still has about $80 left for campaign spending.
Chad Jeffry, a pre-architecture freshman, said he witnessed a man passing out carnations to women on Valentine's Day.
Jeffry said the man had about 30 to 35 carnations in a basket that clearly endorsed Reuben.
Reuben said he did pass out a "few dozen" carnations and spent about $15 total on flowers.
Reuben said he purchased flowers and T-shirts at bulk, but declined to say from which companies because he wanted to avoid making them look good or bad.
Each candidate is required to submit their expense reports and Reuben's expenditures are all accounted for, Falck said.
Falck said when a complaint about Reuben's spending came up, he called each company to verify what Reuben claimed he spent.
Falck said he followed up with every candidate's expenditures, and no one has exceeded the set budget.
Michael Franklin, an ASUA presidential candidate, said many students have come to him with reports of Reuben violating campaigning rules.
"I'm not trying to be a poor sport but there is a set of rules we all have to follow and I don't feel he was following the rules," Franklin said.
Franklin said students have reported to him and said Reuben has been distributing flyers with his running mate on them, which violates the election code.
According to the election code, "Only one candidate's name may appear on any piece of campaign material."
Franklin said Reuben has made clear violations, but said it is "nothing personal" against him and that "no one is trying to single out one person, we just want to make sure the elections are fair."
Nathan Bell, an ASUA presidential candidate, said he would not comment on accusations against Reuben.
Jacob Hill, another presidential candidate, could not be reached for comment.
Reuben said his campaign has been coming up with new, creative ways to get his message out to students, leaving the other candidates "grasping" for ways to get ahead.
"All I'm doing is running a campaign," Reuben said.
Falck said candidates have the option of appealing his decisions regarding violations, but none have appealed yet.